4th of July in California (Warning: This is long!)

We just got back from our trip to California, where we spent the week of the 4th of July.  With the intent of sharing more of my trip on my blog, I took lots of pictures.  I broke it down by day, since we were gone for a week, this is a looooong post!

I was nervous to leave for such a long time, not that my girls at the coffee shop aren't capable of service amazing coffee without me... but I missed them and I hope they missed me (they haven't let on too much, but I've only been back at the shop for a few days.)

Gina's message to me on Saturday, the day before we left.

Sunday July 1st

 We drove from our house Corvallis to my dad's house Hayward in 9 hours with only 2 stops.  We left early in the morning so that we would have the afternoon to hang out with my family.

Interstate 5 just south of the Siskyou Pass

I didn't take too many pictures on the way down.  Romo had left Saturday morning, and met us at my dad's Sunday night.  He took the coast route part of the way.

Monday July 2nd

Sunflowers my sister bought.

We just hung out all day Monday.  I took Jackie to Costco to get some of her favorite snacks in bulk.  I also got some essentials that we would need for the week.  One thing I discovered about Costco that I didn't know is that they also sell tickets to local attractions for cheaper prices (in bulk, of course).  So I bought 2 tickets to California's Great America at a buy one, get one free price (Romo is a big boy... he was on his own.)

Tuesday July 3rd

So off we went to Great America on Tuesday.  The park used to be owned by Paramount (yes, the film studio).  In junior high and high school, we went there multiple times a year. All the rides and attractions were named after movies or television shows.  But alas, tough times in America call for the sale of themed amusement parks to random companies (Cedar Faire now owns the park).  The names of the rides have been changed, and many of them are in need of a good re-painting.  The shabby-ness doesn't help when you have a bit of situational anxiety and practically pass out each time you get on a thrill ride.  I quadruple checked my safety harnesses as I pictured myself falling to my death (dramatic, I know... but it got easier as the day went on.)  We got there right when the park opened, so we were able to ride many of the rides multiple times in a row with no wait time.  I believe the boys rode Drop Tower 5 times that day.  I have a before, during and after picture of the boys riding it the second time around.  This ride takes you up 225 feet and drops you...FAST.  My least favorite ride...

Dave and Romo before heading up Drop Tower for the second time.

See that tiny speck 22 stories up? Yeah... the boys.

Post drop.

The viking ship ride. The boys are in the second or third row from the left.

All three of us got super sunburned... especially me.  I had put sunscreen on, but I guess it was old or expired because my chest got the weirdest shaped burn on it.  Both of the boys got their faces burnt too.

 Wednesday July 4th 

Happy Independence Day!

We had a laid back morning of breakfast and TV before we went and picked Sarah up from the airport.

Me, Jackie and Sarah catching some sun with our matching shades.

The boys left to right Dave, Dad, Romo, and Champ

Dave and Champ pose for the camera.

We BBQ'd and the boys made homemade chili! We laid on the back deck of the house and sunned ourselves to catch up on some vitamin D. This is when sunburn #2 occured on my chest.

When it started to get dark, we loaded up my sister's Tahoe and drove down to Cal State East Bay, the university down the hill from my Dad's house.  They have a great view from there, so we watched people in the flats set off illegal, but beautiful, fireworks.

San Jose to the left, Hayward in front.

The gang watching the first few go off.

Nighttime view.

Thursday July 5th

We had originally planned to go do a tour of Alcatraz this day, however, I hadn't realized that we needed to book the tour two weeks ahead of time.  Long story short, we found an alternative... California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park.  I didn't take too many pictures, just a few.  They had some awesome attractions including a rainforest and an earthquake simulator.  We didn't get to look at everything, but I would really love to go back someday!   

Jackie taking in the view from the living roof.

After lunch, it got really busy, so we drove down to Fort Point to take pictures at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Dave, Sarah, Ali and Jackie watching the dolphins!

Romo, Dave and Jackie.

Friday July 6th

We didn't have anything planned for today, so the boys wanted to go see the Arlen Ness museum of choppers.  It wasn't very big, but the attention to detail on each bike was incredible!  A few of my favorites below...

We just hung out for a bit, then all piled in the car to pick Alissa up from the airport!

Saturday July 7th

I had trouble sleeping in, and was the first one up, so Champ and Roadie got up with me and we went outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Alissa, Sarah, Dave, Chris and I all piled in the car and drove to Berkeley.  The three of us girls got matching tattoos done.  More on that later...

But by the time we got back, we changed and left for the Oakland A's game vs. the Mariners.  Let's just say that the A's lost bad... but it was a great time!

View from our seats

Alissa, Sarah, Jackie

Sisters.

My besties.

Jackie photo bomb.

The girls and Daddo.

Sunday July 8th

A sad, sad day, but we had to drive home...  Chris and Sarah left ahead of us, and we took Alissa to the airport.  We busted out our drive in the most efficient way possible.  We stopped in Redding to get In N Out... and the car told us this:

Ew.  It was fun though!

Hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure.  We packed a lot into a week... and I can't wait to go back. (Hopefully soon)